Stanford's 2019 class is expected to be 21 strong today (counting returning LDS missionary Levani Damuni) and Cardinal Sports Report will update this blog with a brief backstory and analysis of each recruit.

Herron flipped to Stanford July 23 after the Cardinal coaches spent a year working to convince him that The Farm, and not Michigan, was the right fit for him. Ultimately the talented pass rusher agreed.

Herron was always highly interested in Stanford and knew he fit in well off the field with his 4.0 GPA. On the field he often competed out of position compared to where Stanford projects him at outside linebacker. He battled as a defensive end against offensive linemen and still fared well. His senior season was limited by an injury and yet he still tallied 84 tackles (59 solo), 36 tackles for loss, 19 sacks, 48 hurries, five forced fumbles, fumble recovery and two blocked kicks.

This season Stanford’s coaches talked about the need for a more dynamic pass rush with guys who can win one-on-one against offensive lineman. Herron can be one of those guys. He competed in The Opening Finals and his speed off the edge from an outside linebacker position causes a lot of problems.

Toomer showed up to Stanford in June to camp for an offer and he had an impressive showing in front of the Stanford coaches. Toomer stayed step-for-step with receivers and was able to make plays on the ball throughout the morning and afternoon sessions of the camp. He got the good news the same day and by the end of the month he was ready to announce his commitment. He went public the same day as Kyu Kelly.

Toomer is a safety prospect from Georgia who also seriously considered Vanderbilt and Northwestern. He described himself as a Stanford fan “for a long time”.

"I chose Stanford because of the academic prestige, the winning tradition that Stanford has, and the beautiful location of the school.

“When I was there on my visit, I liked how the coaches interacted with us at the camp. I liked the fact that at Stanford, football does not limit what major you can pick.”

Bragg was Stanford’s first offensive line commit of the 2019 class and he was offered the same day that Mike Bloomgren was officially announced the head coach at Rice. Bragg is the type of student-athlete who may have committed to Stanford even without a new position coach. He’s an elite student who retook his ACT because the 30 he got on it was the same score as his brother. He got a 31 on the retake.

Bragg is an Under Armour All-American listed as a center but hasn’t played the position since his sophomore year at Crandall High. He will probably start out as a guard at Stanford but Kevin Carberry likes to develop versatility, so expect Bragg to get reps at center and guard early in his career.

A conversation with former Cardinal great Joshua Garnett stuck with Bragg after a visit in March: “He talked about why he chose Stanford in the first place,” Bragg said. “He was a five star guy coming out of high school … and he talked about how he loves the fact that when his football career is over he has a Stanford degree to fall back on. He was saying after football ends he still wants to be a trauma surgeon. The type of goals that people who go to Stanford set is just miles above anywhere else. That’s just honest.”

Hornibrook comes from a proud family of student-athletes. His father, Jeff, played football at Temple; his mother, Dawn, played basketball at Gettysburg College; his sister, Mackenzie, was a swimmer at Penn State and his brother, Alex, is the starting quarterback at Wisconsin. Jake had offers from coast-to-coast and seriously considered Clemson before committing to Stanford after two visits.

Hornibrook was one of Carberry’s first offers as an offensive line coach. He was recruited to play guard or tackle in college.

"I knew I was going to commit to Stanford after the second visit. I really liked it," he said. "Staying with the players (during the second visit) helped a lot because I could ask them questions about Stanford. They helped out a lot. Also, getting more one-on-one time with Coach Carberry, Coach (Tavita) Pritchard and Coach (David) Shaw made me realize I wanted to go to Stanford."

McGill was one of Stanford’s earliest offers in the 2019 class and the Texan fell in love with the Cardinal early on. He had an unusual tie to the program because he sometimes trains with former Stanford great Solomon Thomas and the families know each other. Thomas watched McGill camp at Stanford before McGill’s junior season and it was at that camp he earned the offer.

McGill put in a lot of work to get to Stanford and flipped his commitment from SMU the last weekend before signing day.

McGill was a do-everything player at Coppell High and a strong leader for the team. He scored as a running back, receiver and returner. He finished the season with 62 tackles. McGill isn’t the biggest player or the fastest in a straight line race, but he helps a team win games. And that’s a football player.

Stanford’s second running back commit of the class completed the pair with Austin Jones that position coach Ron Gould targeted for months. Peat visited Stanford July 28 and participated in the Friday Night Lights camp despite already having an offer.

Peat was likely headed toward a commitment to Northwestern when Stanford offered and the academic prestige, plus the style of offense, intrigued him. He doesn’t have the obvious versatility of Jones, who is a great receiver, but he can catch the ball out of the backfield and is tougher to bring down than his stature may make some believe.

He gained 2,529 yards rushing his senior season and scored 24 touchdowns.

Before July 28 Nugent didn’t seriously think his dream of playing at Stanford would ever be a reality. That afternoon he participated in the Friday Night Lights camp and impressed Kevin Carberry. He earned an offer and immediately Stanford was the overwhelming favorite for the Colorado center.

Nugent is a powerful, relentless football player who as a junior never left the field and earned all-state recognition as a defensive lineman. He also played special teams. He explained that his love for the game motivated him to stay on the field.

He attends Highlands Ranch, which is just up the road from Valor Christian. The McCaffreys starred at Valor Christian and it’s where Christian played before coming to The Farm. That caught Nugent’s attention and now he has a chance to block for future Cardinal backs.

In every class there are multiple recruits who describe Stanford as their dream school. It was DiCosmo’s goal to attend Stanford since he was in third grade. That youngster grew up into a pass rush recruit with offers from across the country and he chose Stanford over finalists Notre Dame and Michigan.

DiCosmo suffered a leg injury in September and missed most of his senior season but he finished his career at national powerhouse Bergen Catholic with 100 total tackles, 24 TFL and 13.5 sacks.

DiCosmo was initially offered to play inside linebacker but the Cardinal changed the offer to outside backer, his preferred position. That removed the only holdup in DiCosmo’s thinking to commit to Stanford.

Sinclair burst onto the recruiting scene during the spring with an impressive performance at The Opening regional in Santa Clara. Notre Dame offered the next day when news spread that this inside linebacker has safety/running back speed and the physicality to play in the middle of a defense.

Sinclair’s father, Andy, played at Stanford in the 80s but Tristan at one point was set to follow a different path to Notre Dame. At The Opening Finals the other Stanford recruits worked to convince Sinclair that home was in fact on The Farm and he didn’t have to travel across the country to establish his own legacy.

A two-way star in high school, Sinclair rushed for 1,024 yards and 11 touchdowns on 138 carries. He will play in the All-American Game.

The silent bear of the class, Miller is a well regarded offensive lineman who was completely disinterested in publicizing his recruiting process. His high school head coach said there were a number of offers that Miller never reported. He chose Stanford over Northwestern, Duke and several other top academic programs.

His then head coach, Dustin Delaney, said about Miller in July: "The most impressive thing about him (on the football field) is how flexible he is for being as big as he is. He can bend and he can run. He can move and he will be huge when he fills out. You can't teach that flexibility and bend. It's unique for a kid his size.

"He's about 260 but he's pretty skinny looking. He has a flat belly at 260 and about 6-5, or whatever he is. He knows he has to get bigger and stronger. The kid is grinding in the weight room."

Stanford’s first 2019 commit put in an unusual amount of work to get an offer from Stanford. He was offered July 27 of last year at the end of the Friday Night Lights camp. He showed off his physicality, precise route running and speed in front of the Stanford coaches and they made the decision to offer on the field at Stanford Stadium.

“When I got the offer I was in awe,” he said. “I couldn’t stop smiling. It was the best feeling ever. Ever since seventh grade going up there to the camps it has been my dream to go there. That’s my dream school. Obviously it’s Stanford … the best university in the world. I love all the coaches. They’re all great guys and I love being there. It feels like family to me.”

Playing for one of the top five high school teams in the country, Bowman finished his career with 1,538 yards on 82 catches. He scored 15 touchdowns. His senior season he averaged 20 yards per catch and nearly broke the 1,000 yard mark (920) with 46 catches.

Rouse visited Stanford three times and it seemed obvious even as elite offers rolled in that he was headed to The Farm. He had offers from multiple Ivy League schools and also Michigan, Ohio State, Notre Dame and others. An impressive student, Rouse was drawn to what Stanford offers. He has attended multiple medical studying camps at colleges during his summer vacations and toured medical facilities at Stanford during one visit.

A mountain of a young man, the 6-7 tackle was recently given a fourth star by Rivals. He has a lot of raw potential and played against poor competition in high school. But once he got his feet under him at more talented camp settings he held his own.

For more than a year it seemed only a matter of time before the St. Francis High (Mountain View, Calif.) star pass rusher made it public he was committed to Stanford. Other recruits in the class joke he was actually the first commit. Pakola is a charismatic, energetic leader who has a combination of size and athleticism on the field that’s exciting.

He originally was offered to play outside linebacker and that’s where he’ll probably start his career. But coaches at Stanford consider is more likely than not that Pakola becomes a defensive lineman. To his credit, Pakola doesn’t care at all about the position, only about rushing the passer.

"Ever since the start I got so much love from Stanford," he said. "Last year I didn't miss a single home game. Going to Stanford has been home for me. I feel so welcome there and I fit in well with everyone. It's a great culture."

Jones is already a familiar name in Bay Area football because the Bishop O’Dowd star recently finished his prep career as the second leading rusher in the area’s history. Jones was a priority recruit for position coach Ron Gould and Stanford and his commitment June 29 kicked off the single best weekend of recruiting news in the cycle. That was appropriate because he also was one of the class’ top recruiters.

He has the ability to step in as a freshman and compete to help fill the void left by departing star Bryce Love.

Jones said he felt loved at Stanford: "It's one of those things that I just felt. My relationship with the coaches is great. When I go there it's not just Coach Gould and Coach Shaw, it's all the coaches. They all knew me and they all talked to me."

Stanford’s lone tight end in the class, Archer was committed to Cal since the summer but flipped his commitment to the Cardinal in November. Archer held several other Pac-12 offers, including one from Washington.

Archer is a better athlete and prospect than his Rivals rating suggests. He’s natural pass catcher who plays the game with more physicality than shown in his receiving highlights. He was an effective defensive lineman as well for Livermore, recording 98 Total Tackles,(41 solo tackles and 57 assists), 16 tackles for loss, three sacks and 15 quarterback pressures.

“Stanford was always my dream school growing up as a kid. The education, the atmosphere, the people, and the overall Stanford community fits me as a person.”

Kelly is a talented, physical cornerback at perennial national power Bishop Gorman. He committed to Stanford over offers from most of the Pac-12 schools and his decision made a prediction by his father, Brian, come true. When Kyu was in eighth grade his father messaged him from Stanford’s campus during a practice. Attached was a photo and a message that Brian could see his son attending Stanford one day. Four years later it’s going to happen.

Kelly shows his physical ability in football and also in track and field. His best 100 time is 10.72 and he his top long jump is 23 feet, 6.5 inches. Position coach Duane Akina will start out Kelly at cornerback but he has the ability to play throughout the defensive backfield.

Stanford’s second recruit flipped from rival Cal, Manley is an intriguing prospect because of his length at 6-2 and athleticism. He played for one of the top teams in the state at Upland High. Manley was quiet for most of his recruitment while he considered Stanford during his time committed to Cal.

"Both schools are great academically and athletically, but in the end, I just felt more comfortable with Stanford. Academically, I feel that I fit in better with them."

He had 13 passes defended his senior season and three interceptions. He also had 37 tackles.

Graham missed his senior season due to a torn ACL and at the time he was committed to Wisconsin. The Badgers stuck with their offer to the North Carolina athlete and so did Stanford. The Cardinal offered in June and want Graham to play wide receiver on The Farm. He was a quarterback for most of his career in high school and is a dynamic playmaker with the ball in his hands.

“I think playing quarterback in high school will be my greatest asset going into college. Being able to not only know the “what” but also the “why” will give me a mental advantage that’s incredibly necessary in college.”

Graham committed without seeing Stanford and will visit The Farm in January.

Last but not least, Higgins committed to Stanford Tuesday and the Texan’s decision to choose the Cardinal over the home-state Longhorns and Florida brought joy to the Stanford football offices. Higgins is a 6-3, 215-pound athlete whose physical skill set had some analysts wondering if he should play tight end in college. Higgins has no interest in that role and Stanford agrees he fits best in their offense on the outside.

The Cardinal look at Higgins and see someone who could be the next JJ Arcega-Whiteside, a bully on the field who punishes defensive backs.

Higgins is not just a big body lined up outside. An injury limited his senior season and ability to play receiver, so he lined up at wildcat quarterback at times. He's faster than some people might think when they first see him. And, of course, he can run through defenders as well.

Nearly seven months after Bowman got the class started Turner-Muhammad was the second public commitment. The New York City native goes to school in Virginia at Episcopal High. At 6-1 he’s a physical cornerback who used his length and athleticism to make plays on both sides of the ball in high school.

Turner-Muhammad visited Stanford before he had an offer. When he was offered he almost immediately came back for a second visit and that locked in his decision.

He explained what appealed to him about Stanford when he committed: ““It just feels like the place that I need to be at, with other players, like myself, that value education but also value football,” he said. “It’s a very small niche that Stanford covers and they’ve been able to get these special players. I want to be included in that group.”